Motorists will soon have the ability to travel Kuykendahl Road from south of The Woodlands all the way to FM 1488 as the final piece of the north-south thoroughfare from Crownridge Drive to Alden Bridge Drive will likely begin construction in the fall.

Montgomery County Precinct 2 Commissioner Craig Doyal said the missing portion stretches 2,500 feet, or about a half-mile.

The new roadway will connect the southern end of Kuykendahl Road to a northern section constructed more than a year ago that is adjacent to the H-E-B on FM 1488. The project should go to bid in July, Doyal said, as the county awaits environmental clearance by the Texas Department of Transportation on a 160-foot bridge, which is part of the project.

He anticipates construction beginning in September or October with an "aggressive" six-month timeframe for completion of the project.

Doyal said construction of the extension will cost $2.7 million, of which the county will pay 20 percent.

"The more alternative routes we can take to get in and out of The Woodlands can help traffic flow in a very positive manner," Doyal said.

The extension should also alleviate traffic at Mitchell Intermediate School at the corner of Alden Bridge Drive and Kuykendahl Road, he said.

The connection of Kuykendahl to FM 1488 was always part of the county's thoroughfare plan, Doyal said.

Expansion of FM 2978 and the Fish Creek Thoroughfare will also help northbound and southbound traffic around The Woodlands.

The expansion of FM 2978 from two lanes to four lanes from Conroe-Huffsmith Road to Dry Creek could be awarded to a contractor in August with a 20-month expected construction timetable.

Mike Page, spokesman for The Woodlands Road Utility District No. 1, said the construction project for the two-lane Kuykendahl extension includes light signalization at the intersection of Kuykendahl Road and Alden Bridge Drive, although there are no plans in place for a stoplight at the intersection of Kuykendahl and Crownridge.

TxDOT will fund the 80 percent of the project not paid by the county, Page said, while The Woodlands RUD No. 1 paid for engineering costs, which usually are about 10 percent of the cost of construction. He said the RUD funded the two sections of Kuykendahl connecting Alden Bridge Drive to FM 1488, as well as the sections of Kuykendahl from Woodlands Parkway to Crownridge Drive.

"It's the last link in a master plan for mobility that connects 1488 all the way to Harris County," Page said. "It's long awaited and much anticipated, and it's been on the plan since day one."